By: Hall S.B. No. 1065
(In the Senate - Filed February 3, 2025; February 24, 2025,
read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
April 15, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8,
Nays 1; April 15, 2025, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a required provision in certain governmental entity
contracts regarding the carrying of handguns by license holders;
providing civil penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.2095 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.2095. VIOLATION OF CONTRACT PROVISION RELATING TO
LICENSE HOLDER; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) In this section, "governmental
entity" has the meaning assigned by Section 2252.911(a).
(b) A contractor who uses property owned or leased by a
governmental entity under a contract containing a condition
described by Section 2252.911(b) may not take any action, including
an action consisting of the provision of notice by a communication
described by Section 30.06 or 30.07, Penal Code, that states or
implies that a license holder who is carrying a handgun under the
authority of this subchapter is prohibited from entering or
remaining on the property or a portion of the property unless
license holders are prohibited from carrying a handgun on the
property or that portion of the property by Section 46.03, Penal
Code, or other law.
(c) A contractor that violates Subsection (b) is liable for
a civil penalty of:
(1) not less than $1,000 and not more than $1,500 for
the first violation; and
(2) not less than $10,000 and not more than $10,500 for
the second or a subsequent violation.
(d) Each day of a continuing violation of Subsection (b)
constitutes a separate violation.
(e) A resident of this state or a person licensed to carry a
handgun under this subchapter may file a complaint with the
attorney general that a contractor is in violation of Subsection
(b) if the resident or license holder provides the contractor a
written notice that describes the location and general facts of the
violation and the contractor does not cure the violation before the
end of the third business day after the date of receiving the
written notice. A complaint filed with the attorney general under
this subsection must include evidence of the violation and a copy of
the written notice provided to the contractor.
(f) A civil penalty collected by the attorney general under
this section shall be deposited to the credit of the compensation to
victims of crime fund established under Subchapter J, Chapter 56B,
Code of Criminal Procedure.
(g) Before a suit may be brought against a contractor for a
violation of Subsection (b), the attorney general must investigate
the complaint to determine whether legal action is warranted. If
legal action is warranted, the attorney general must give the
contractor charged with the violation a written notice that:
(1) describes the violation;
(2) states the amount of the proposed penalty for the
violation; and
(3) gives the contractor 15 days from receipt of the
notice to cure the violation to avoid the penalty, unless the
contractor was found liable by a court for previously violating
Subsection (b).
(h) If the attorney general determines that legal action is
warranted and that the contractor has not cured the violation
within the 15-day period provided by Subsection (g)(3), the
attorney general or the appropriate county or district attorney may
sue to collect the civil penalty provided by Subsection (c). The
attorney general may also file a petition for appropriate equitable
relief. A suit or petition under this subsection may be filed in a
district court in Travis County or in a county in which the
contractor's principal place of business is located. The attorney
general may recover reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining
relief under this subsection, including court costs, reasonable
attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness fees, and deposition
costs.
SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 2252, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2252.911 to read as follows:
Sec. 2252.911. REQUIRED CONTRACT PROVISION RELATING TO
HANDGUNS CARRIED BY LICENSE HOLDERS. (a) In this section,
"governmental entity" means:
(1) a department, commission, board, office, or other
agency that is in the executive or legislative branch of state
government and that was created by the constitution or a statute,
including an institution of higher education as defined by Section
61.003, Education Code;
(2) the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals,
a court of appeals, a district court, or the Texas Judicial Council
or another agency in the judicial branch of state government; or
(3) a county, municipality, special-purpose district
or authority, or any other political subdivision of this state.
(b) A contract for the use of property owned or leased by a
governmental entity must include the following statement:
"______________ (name of contractor), during the term of this
contract, may not in any manner prohibit a license holder who is
carrying a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter
411, Government Code, from entering or remaining on the property or
a portion of the property, including a prohibition imposed through
the provision of notice by a communication described by Section
30.06 or 30.07, Penal Code, unless license holders are prohibited
from carrying handguns on the property or that portion of the
property under Section 46.03, Penal Code, or other law. Each
violation of this provision may result in a civil penalty of up to
$10,500 and a judgment for the expenses associated with obtaining
relief under Section 411.2095, Government Code."
SECTION 3. The provisions of this Act are severable, and if
any provision of this Act or the application of the provision to any
person or circumstance is declared invalid for any reason, the
declaration does not affect the validity of the remaining portions
of this Act.
SECTION 4. Section 2252.911, Government Code, as added by
this Act, does not apply to a contract entered into before the
effective date of this Act, except that if the contract is renewed,
modified, or extended on or after the effective date of this Act,
Section 2252.911, Government Code, applies to the contract
beginning on the date of renewal, modification, or extension.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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